1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the structural joining together of prefabricated walls and panels to provide temporary partitions within the interior space of a building. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved and preferably insulated wall stud assembly for connecting prefabricated partitions or wall panels in a manner which significantly reduces the time and expense normally associated with the manufacture, assembly and installation of conventional wall stud assemblies. In addition, certain embodiments of the present invention are also structured to function as a conduit within the prefabricated partitions or walls, for receiving and concealing utility lines such as electrical wires, telephone and computer/data lines and the like therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
In many buildings and industrial settings, it is often necessary to quickly form temporary and/or removable office spaces, storage rooms, administrative cubicles, and the like. Due to the flexibility offered by prefabricated walls, they are becoming increasingly popular in current times, and are even beginning to be utilized for more permanent partitioning of space.
In general, prefabricated partition walls are constructed by utilizing a plurality of wall stud assemblies, each of which is used to secure two prefabricated partitions or wall panels together in order to form an integrated, prefabricated partition or wall. As shown in FIG. 1, labelled "Prior Art," each wall stud assembly 1, customarily comprises two generally duplicate stud members, 2, 4. Each stud member is seen to comprise a first panel receiving part 6, 6', a joining part, 7, 7', and another panel receiving part, 8, 8'. As shown, the joining #8 parts 7, 7' of the stud member are joined to each other, typically by way of a bolt 9 extending therethrough, to produce two oppositely facing channels. A prefabricated partition or wall panel 5, often including an insulating layer, is received in each of the stud member's panel receiving parts, 6, 6', and 8, 8' respectively, and is positioned relative thereto in order to form a prefabricated wall. As mentioned above, in order to secure the joining parts 7, 7' of the stud members together, a bolt 9 is typically passed through a first one of the stud members and extends through and into the other stud member. It is known to form the stud members 2, 4, with holes punched therein so as to readily permit a bolt to be passed therethrough. In general, a nut is then matingly secured to the exposed distal end (not shown) of the bolt 9 so that the stud members 2, 4, of the prefabricated partition or wall are securely maintained in position.
However, many situations arise in which it is difficult or impossible to secure a nut to the exposed distal end of the bolt after it passes through stud member 4 forming a prefabricated wall partition. For example, it is not uncommon for a prefabricated wall to be positioned closely adjacent to an external, load bearing wall or other structural wall within the building where the prefabricated partition is located. In such instances, there is often inadequate space for a worker to position himself or herself in proximity to the stud member through which the distal end of the bolt passes, and it may thus be impossible to secure a nut to the bolt end. In other instances, for example, where a prefabricated wall forms the exterior wall of an elevated area such as a balcony or atrium, it is very difficult and even unsafe to secure a nut to the bolt passing through the stud member of the prefabricated wall. In such situations, it may be necessary to provide a ladder so that a worker can reach the bolt and manually secure a nut thereto. There can be instances, however, when even that is not feasible. For example, where a balcony is formed of prefabricated wall partitions to extend several stories into the air within a building's interior, it may require that a movable scaffolding structure be assembled and moved into place so as to permit the stud members to be properly joined together. Doing so, however, substantially increases the time and labor costs involved with assembling prefabricated partition walls, not to mention the risk of injury to a worker, all of which are undesirable.
One effort to solve some of the above described problems associated with properly joining together the stud members which make up a prefabricated wall or partition, involved forming a riv-nut assembly on the joining part 71, of the stud members so as to avoid the step of manually installing a nut on the distal end of the bolt extending therethrough. Riv-nut assemblies, are designed to permit a worker to join together the stud members of the prefabricated wall partition by simply inserting a bolt through the punched hole of the first stud member and securing the distal end into the riv-nut mounted on the second stud member. Given the design of the riv-nut assembly, when the distal end of the bolt passes therein, there is no need for a nut to be secured to the bolt. Thus, an advantage of the riv-nut assembly is that a bolt or other like fastener, once passed through the first stud member, can be automatically secured to the riv-nut by a single worker positioned on only one side of the prefabricated partition wall.
Unfortunately, however, in order to produce a stud member with riv-nut assemblies positioned thereon, a tedious, labor-intensive, and time consuming process must be followed, which naturally, adds significant costs to the manufacture of the stud members and to the overall cost of utilizing a prefabricated partition or wall. More specifically, attaching a plurality of riv-nuts at proper locations on a stud member first involves forming a plurality of holes on the stud member by manually punching each hole utilizing a punch press. Once the series of holes are punched, a single riv-nut is manually placed in each hole. Next, a riveter device presses down on each of the manually positioned riv-nuts, thereby expanding the base thereof in order to affix it to a stud member. Subsequently, in order to ensure that the riv-nut does not become inadvertently removed from the stud member, a serrated washer is manually placed on the shaft of the riv-nut. This laborious process, as well as the extra material costs makes producing a stud member with several riv-nut assemblies positioned thereon more expensive to form and install and therefore, uneconomical for many applications. Consequently, to minimize the added cost associated with forming stud members with riv-nut assemblies, it is common to provide only one of the pair of stud members with riv-nut assemblies, while the other stud member is provided with a series of only punched holes. Naturally, due to the time and expense involved, it is not feasible to form riv-nut assemblies on each of the two stud members which make up a wall stud assembly. There are several drawbacks to this cost saving effort wherein two different types of stud members are utilized. First, it becomes extremely crucial to estimate and order the precise number of stud members needed for a particular project. That is, because this cost saving system utilizes two different types of stud members, which must be utilized concurrently, it is imperative that the number of stud members having punched holes thereon are equal to the number of stud members having riv-nut assemblies formed thereon as a shortage of either type of stud member will make it impossible to complete or at least will delay the completion of the prefabricated partition walls. Second, the use of two distinct types of stud members creates added and unnecessary administrative costs by complicating inventory as well as the ordering, packaging, shipping, and installation of the stud members. Given these unnecessary impediments, it will generally be more economical to utilize the common system of using a fastener and a nut to secure the stud members together instead of stud members having riv-nut assemblies thereon, particularly where a worker is likely to have access to both sides of a prefabricated partition or wall.
Accordingly, there remains a significant need in the art for an improved wall stud assembly which permits workers to assemble and join together the stud members used to form a prefabricated partition or wall, without having to manually secure a nut or like fastener catching mechanism to the distal exposed end of a bolt or other fastener which passes through the stud members. Any such improved wall stud assembly should be able to avoid the drawbacks encountered with other systems in the art which have required the costly affixation of riv-nut assemblies to one or more stud members. Any such improved wall stud assembly should further provide a practical and inexpensive alternative by simplifying inventory, ordering, packaging, accounting, shipping, and installation of same.
In addition, prefabricated partition assemblies should also meet certain safety standards. On the one hand, it is known in the art to construct the individual panels, identified by reference numeral 5 in FIG. 1, to include some insulation material, primarily for purposes of maintaining the interior space defined by the pre-fabricated partition or wall at a generally stable temperature. It may even be the case that these individual panels, 5, are constructed so as to comply with conventional building and fire code standards. On the other hand, however, it has not been known to date and presumably ever even contemplated, to incorporate insulation material into the stud assembly or post structure which is used to interconnect the prefabricated partitions or wall panels, 5. As such, it is believed by the inventor hereof that known or available prefabricated partition assemblies do not adequately meet certain safety standards and/or do not offer optimal protection against fire. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a stud assembly, used in interconnecting prefabricated partitions or walls, which is structured to incorporate insulation material therein, which should be at least in part heat resistant insulation material, in order to provide a safer overall prefabricated partition assembly, and one which complies, at least minimally, with strict building and fire codes, albeit preferably, one which exceeds such standards in the construction industry.